Racist Remarks by Leaders in the Church

Doctrinal Commentary on the Pearl of Great Price, pg. 209; “Question three: What influence can the Adversary have over man in mortality? Though the spirits of all men who come to mortality overcame the enticements of Satan and his followers when they resided in the presence of God in their first estate, they are required also to meet the opposition of the Adversary in a fallen state, away from the direct truth and power of God’s presence, where corruption and the seeds of death are associated with the endowments of the flesh. This is necessary in order that they might overcome all things and triumph over evil in the physical as well as in the pre-earth spirit realm of life.” – Hyrum L. Andrus

Terry B. Ball

Born White a Blessing

“To Confirm and Inform: A Blessing of Higher Education” March 11, 2008, BYU Devotional; “Have you ever wondered why you were born where and when you were born? Why you were not born 500 years ago in some primitive, aboriginal culture in some isolated corner of the world? Is the timing and placing of your birth capricious? For Latter-day Saints the answer is no. Fundamental to our faith is the understanding that before we came to this earth we lived in a premortal existence with a loving heavenly father. We further understand that in that premortal state we had agency. And that we grew and developed as we used that agency. Some, as Abraham learned, became noble and great ones.” – Terry B. Ball, Former Dean of Religious Education

Melvin J. Ballard

Blacks neutral in the pre-existence? Maybe not…

Sermons and Missionary Services of Melvin J. Ballard, pgs. 247-248; “Now, my brothers and sisters, I would like you to understand that long before we were born into this earth we were tested and tried in our pre-existence, and the fact that of the thousands of children born today, a certain proportion of them went to the Hottentots of South Africa; thousands went to the Chinese mothers; thousands went to Negro mothers; thousands to beautiful white Latter-day Saint mothers: You cannot tell me that the entire group was just designated, marked, to go where they did, that they were men and women of equal opportunities. There are no infant spirits born. They had a being ages before they came into this life. They appear in infant bodies, but they were tested, proven souls. Therefore, I say to you that long before we came into this life all groups and races of men existed as they exist today. Like attracts like.

Why is it in this Church we do not grant the priesthood to the Negroes? It is alleged that the Prophet Joseph said—and I have no reason to dispute it—that it is because of some act committed by them before they came into this life. It is alleged that they were neutral, standing neither for Christ nor the devil. But, I am convinced it is because of some things they did before they came into this life that they have been denied the privilege. The races of today are very largely reaping the consequence of a previous life.” – Bryant S. Hinckley, 1949

Ezra T. Benson

No Freedom for Slaves

Journal of Discourses 6:180-181; “One gentleman asked if we believed in slavery. I told him, No, we did not; “but,” said I, “we believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the Gospel of liberty, for it open the door of freedom and throws off the fetters of bondage.”

“Well,” said he, “do not you believe in freeing the negroes?”

I answered, “No; the Lord will do that.”

“Ah,” said he, “the Mormons do believe in slavery; for they permit men to bring their slaves into their Territory.” I them went on to show him our views upon the subject; but I could see my remarks did not satisfy the people.” – Ezra T. Benson, Salt Lake City, January 24, 1858

Ezra Taft Benson

Secret Agenda of Blacks

Deseret News, December 14, 1963; “LOGAN, UTAH—Former agriculture secretary Ezra Taft Benson charged Friday night that the CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT in the South had been ‘FOMENTED ALMOST ENTIRELY BY THE COMMUNISTS.’ “Elder Benson, a member of the Council of the Twelve of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said in a speech at a public meeting here that the WHOLE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT WAS ‘PHONY.’…
“’The whole slogan of ‘civil right’ as used to make trouble in the South today, is an exact parallel to the slogan of agrarian reform’ which they used in China,’ he added….
“’The pending ‘civil rights’ legislation is, I am convinced, about 10 per cent civil rights and 90 per cent a further extension of socialistic federal controls,’ Elder Benson said, ‘It is part of the PATTERN FOR THE COMMUNIST TAKE-OVER OF AMERICA.’”

Ignorant Church Traitors Support Civil Rights

Salt Lake Tribune, April 7, 1965, p. A-5; “’What are we doing to fight it? BEFORE I LEFT FOR EUROPE I WARNED HOW THE COMMUNISTS WERE USING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT TO PROMOTE REVOLUTION AND EVENTUAL TAKEOVER OF THIS COUNTRY. WHEN ARE WE GOING TO WAKE UP? WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE DANGEROUS CIVIL RIGHTS AGITATION IN MISSISSIPPI? DO YOU FEAR THE DESTRUCTION OF ALL VESTIGES OF STATE GOVERNMENT? “’NOW, BRETHREN, THE LORD NEVER PROMISED THERE WOULD NOT BE TRAITORS IN THE CHURCH. WE HAVE THE IGNORANT, THE SLEEPY AND THE DECEIVED WHO PROVIDE TEMPTATIONS AND AVENUES OF APOSTACY FOR THE UNWARY AND THE UNFAITHFUL. BUT WE HAVE A PROPHET AT OUR HEAD AND HE HAS SPOKEN. NOW WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? Do Homework “’Brethren, if we had done our homework and were faithful we could step forward at this time and help save this country.” – Ezra Taft Benson, also in the 135th General Conference

William Berrett

Spirit World Behavior Determines Race

“The Church and the Negroid People,” pp. 16-17; “Man will be punished for his own sins and not for Adam’s transgression. If this is carried further, it would imply that the Negro is punished or allotted to a certain position on this earth, not because of Cain’s transgression, but came to earth through the loins of Cain because of his failure to achieve other stature in the spirit world.” – William E. Berrett

Not Sharing the Gospel with Blacks

Mormonism and the Negro, Part 2, pg 5; “No direct efforts have been made to proselyte among them [Blacks].” – William E. Berrett

Oliver Cowdery

Messenger and Advocate, Vol. 2, No. 7, pp 289, 300, April 1836; “Where can be the common sense of any wishing to see the slaves of the south set at liberty, is past our comprehension. Such a thing could not take place without corrupting all civil and wholesome society, of both the north and the south! Let the blacks of the south be free, and our community is overrun with paupers, and a reckless mass of human beings, uncultivated, untaught and unaccustomed to provide for themselves the necessaries of life endangering the chastity of every female who might be chance be found in our streets-our prisons filled with convicts, and the hang-man wearied with executing the functions of his office!” – Oliver Cowdery

Alvin Dyer

Why Some are Born White

“For What Purpose?”, Missionary Conference Oslo, Norway, March 18, 1961, The Negro in Mormon Theology, pgs 48-58; “We have talked a lot about missionary work and heard the testimonies of those who have spoken. I want to talk to you a little bit now about something that is not missionary work, and what I say is NOT to be given to your investigators by any matter of means….

Why is it that you are white and not colored? Have you ever asked yourself that question? Who had anything to do with your being born into the Church and not born a Chinese or a Hindu, or a Negro? Is God such an unjust person that He would make you white and free and make a Negro CURSED under the CURSING OF CAIN that he should not hold the Priesthood of God?…

“I want to talk to you just briefly about this, not with any information that you would convey to your investigators, but that you, yourselves, may have a better understanding of what we are doing in the mission field today…

There were three divisions of mankind in the pre-existence, and when you are born into this life, you are born into one of these three divisions of people. There is an imposed judgment placed upon everyone who leaves the Spirit World just the same as there will be when they leave this life and go into one of three places. When they left the Spirit World, they had already been judged by what they had done in the Spirit World and in their previous life.

From what judgment is determined how they shall be born in this life? When you understand that, you know that God is not unjust to cause a righteous spirit to be born as a CURSED member of the BLACK RACE or to be CURSED as one of the other people who have been CURSED. Everything is in order. The procreation of man is orderly and in accordance with the plan of life and salvation. “In keeping with this thought, when Noah went into the Ark, here again he took with him his three sons—one representing the CURSED LINEAGE….

Those who have been cursed in the pre-existence were born through this lineage of Ham. “I suppose, and you may have often heard missionaries say it or have asked the question: Why is a Negro a Negro? And, you have heard this answer. ‘Well, they must have been neutral in the pre-existence or they must have straddled the fence. That is the most common saying—they were neither hot nor cold, so the Lord made them Negroes. This, of course, is not true.

The reason that spirits are born into Negro bodies is because those spirits rejected the Priesthood of God in the pre-existence. This is the reason why you have Negroes upon the earth. “You will observe that when Cain was influenced by the power of Lucifer to follow him…

Cain rejected the counsel of God. He rejected again the Priesthood as his forebearers had done in the pre-existence. Therefore, the curse of the pre-existence was made institute through the loins of Cain. Consequently, you have the beginning of the race of men and women into which would be born those in the pre-existence who had rejected the Priesthood of God….

Ham reinstated the curse of the pre-existence when he rejected the Priesthood of Noah, and in consequence of that he preserved the curse on the earth. Therefore, the Negroes to be born thereafter, or those who were to become Negroes, were to be born through the loins of Ham. “All of this is according to a well worked-out plan, that these millions and billions of spirits awaiting birth in the pre-existence would be born through a channel or race of people. Consequently, the cursed were to be born through Ham….

The cursed people are the descendants of Ham. The chosen people are the descendants of Shem… Through these lineages the spirits that compare with their station are born in this life. This is why you have colored people, why you have dark people and why you have white people….

“I don’t know whether the knowledge or the revelation of these things will have an effect upon you as a missionary, but I know that it has an effect upon me…the day will come when you know who you are, because you are a person of nobility. You may not fully know that now, but you were a person of nobility in the pre-existence. If you were not, you would have been born into one of these other channels, and you would not have been born in this day and age, because the Lord has withheld the CHOICE spirits of the pre-existence to come forth in this, the last dispensation…

I wanted you to know the reason why you are preaching the Gospel. There is a purpose behind it and knowing this as you do and knowing your NOBILITY—what kind of a missionary are you going to be from this day to the end of your mission?…

“I have always thought and have proven the point many times that if you will place into the mind of a boy or a girl, firmly, that they are noble persons born of noble heritage in the pre-existence, they will never stoop to anything that is sordid….

I have made known to you today something you may not have known before, but you know them now because the Spirit bears record. “May the Lord bless you in it and bless you with this knowledge. I bear record of its truthfulness in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”

Jeffrey Holland

Not Sure Why Blacks were Excluded

PBS “The Mormons”; “One clear-cut position is that the folklore must never be perpetuated. … I have to concede to my earlier colleagues. … They, I’m sure, in their own way, were doing the best they knew to give shape to [the policy], to give context for it, to give even history to it. All I can say is however well intended the explanations were, I think almost all of them were inadequate and/or wrong. …

It probably would have been advantageous to say nothing, to say we just don’t know, and, [as] with many religious matters, whatever was being done was done on the basis of faith at that time. But some explanations were given and had been given for a lot of years. … At the very least, there should be no effort to perpetuate those efforts to explain why that doctrine existed. I think, to the extent that I know anything about it, as one of the newer and younger ones to come along … we simply do not know why that practice, that policy, that doctrine was in place.”

Heber C. Kimball

Blacks are Slaves Mentally

Journal of Discourses 5:217; “Elder Hyde inquired the situation of the negro. I replied, they came into the world slaves mentally and physically. Change their situation with the whites, and they would be like them. They have souls, and are subjects of salvation. Go into Cincinnati or any city, and find an educated negro, who rides in his carriage, and you will see a man who has risen by the powers of his own mind to his exalted state of respectability. The slaves in Washington are more refined than many in high places, and the black boys will take the shine of many of those they brush and wait on.” – Heber C. Kimball, Salt Lake City, September 6, 1856

Mr. Kimball was a self-imposed slave to his own thinking.

SPENCER W. KIMBALL

General Conference Report, October, 1960, Improvement Era, December 1960, pp. 922-923; “I saw a striking contrast in the progress of the Indian people today…. The day of the Lamanites is nigh. For years they have been growing delightsome, and they are now becoming white and delightsome, as they were promised. In this picture of the twenty Lamanite missionaries, fifteen of the twenty were as light as Anglos, five were darker but equally delightsome The children in the home placement program in Utah are often lighter than their brothers and sisters in the hogans on the reservation.

At one meeting a father and mother and their sixteen-year-old daughter were present, the little member girl–sixteen–sitting between the dark father and mother, and it was evident she was several shades lighter than her parents–on the same reservation, in the same hogan, subject to the same sun and wind and weather….These young members of the Church are changing to whiteness and to delightsomeness. One white elder jokingly said that he and his companion were donating blood regularly to the hospital in the hope that the process might be accelerated.”

“Of Royal Blood,” Ensign, July 1971, pg 7; “Not until the revelations of Joseph Smith, bringing forth the Book of Mormon, did anyone know of these migrants. It was not known before, but now the question is fully answered. Now the Lamanites number about sixty million; they are in all of the states of America from Tierra del Fuego all the way up to Point Barrows, and they are in nearly all the islands of the sea from Hawaii south to southern New Zealand. The Church is deeply interested in all Lamanites because of these revelations and because of this great Book of Mormon, their history that was written on plates of gold and deposited in the hill. The translation by the Prophet Joseph Smith revealed a running history for one thousand years-six hundred years before Christ until four hundred after Christ-a history of these great people who occupied this land for that thousand years. Then for the next fourteen hundred years, they lost much of their high culture. The descendants of this mighty people were called Indians by Columbus in 1492 when he found them here.” – Spencer W. Kimball

Conference Report, April 1954; “Here [he] has the Indian or Lamanite, with a background of twenty-five centuries of superstition, degradation, idolatry, and indolence…. I present to you a people who, according to prophecies, have been scattered and driven, defrauded and deprived, who are a “branch of the tree of Israel — lost from its body — wanderers in a strange land”–their own land…. I beg of you, do not disparage the Lamanite-Nephites … Do not scoff and ignore these Nephite-Lamanites… Do not prate your power of speech or your fearlessness unless you too could stand with the Prophet Samuel on the city wall, dodging stones and spears and arrows while trying to preach the gospel of salvation. The very descendants of this great prophet are with us. They may be Navajos or Cherokees…. Mayas or Pimas…. Piutes or Mohicans…. And in these living descendants … will be redeemed, will rise and will become a blessed people. God has said it.” – Spencer W. Kimball

Harold B. Lee

Harold B. Lee: Prophet and Seer, pg. 542; “Who are you? You are all the sons and daughters of God. Your spirits were created and lived as organized intelligences before the world was. You have been blessed to have a physical body because of your obedience to certain commandments in that premortal state. You are now born into a family to which you have come, into the nations through which you have come, as a reward for the kind of lives you lived before you came here and at a time in the world’s history, as the Apostle Paul taught the men of Athens, and as the Lord revealed to Moses, determined by the faithfulness of each of those who lived before this world was created.”

John L. Lund

Black Skin is Mark of Cain

The Church and the Negro, pg. 17; “It has been pointed out that the mark of Cain was a black skin and that he received it as a symbol of protection. The curse of Cain was that of a Son of Perdition with its accompanying loss of Priesthood, and damnation.” – John Lund

The Church and the Negro, pg 109; “Those who would try to pressure the Prophet to give the Negroes the Priesthood do not understand the plan of God nor the order of heaven. Revelation is the expressed will of God to man. Revelation is not man’s will expressed to God. All the social, political, and governmental pressure in the world is not going to change what God has decreed to be.” – John L. Lund

Bruce McConkie

Forget What We’ve Said, It Doesn’t Matter Anymore

“All Are Alike unto God”, August 18, 1978; “We have now had added a new flood of intelligence and light on this particular subject, and it erases all the darkness and all the views and all the thoughts of the past. They don’t matter anymore.

It doesn’t make a particle of difference what anybody ever said about the Negro matter before the first day of June of this year, 1978. It is a new day and a new arrangement, and the Lord has now given the revelation that sheds light out into the world on this subject.” – Bruce McConkie

Indians Will Become White & Delightsome

Mormon Doctrine, 2nd Ed., 1966, pp. 32-33; “When Columbus discovered America, the native inhabitants, the American Indians as they were soon to be designated, were a people of mixed blood and origin. Chiefly, they were Lamanites, but such remnants of the Nephite nation as had not been destroyed had, of course, mingled with the Lamanites. Thus the Indians were Jews by nationality…. [since then] there has been [a]… dilution of the pure Lamanitish blood. … But with it all, the great majority are the descendants of the original inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere, the dominant blood lineage is that of Israel. The Indians are repeatedly called Lamanites in the revelations to…. become again a white and delightsome people as were their ancestors a great many generations ago.” – Bruce McConkie

People of Color Consort with the Devil

Mormon Doctrine, p. 102; “Though he was a rebel and AN ASSOCIATE OF LUCIFER IN PRE-EXISTENCE, and though he was a liar from the beginning whose name was Perdition, CAIN MANAGED TO ATTAIN THE PRIVILEGE OF MORTAL BIRTH. Under Adam’s tutelage, he began in this life to serve God….he came out in open rebellion, fought God, worshiped Lucifer, and slew Abel…. “As a result of his rebellion, CAIN WAS CURSED WITH A DARK SKIN; he became the father of the Negroes, and those spirits who ARE NOT WORTHY to receive the priesthood are born through his lineage. He became the first mortal to be cursed as a son of perdition. As a result of his mortal birth he is assured of a tangible body of flesh and bones in eternity, a fact which will enable him to RULE over SATAN.” – Bruce McConkie

Cain was given/made black

Mormon Doctrine, pg. 109; “See –>DEVIL, –>HAM, –>MASTER MAHAN, –>NEGROES, –>PERDITION, –>SONS OF PERDITION, –>UNPARDONABLE SIN. Though he was a rebel and an associate of Lucifer in pre-existence and though he was a liar from the beginning whose name was perdition, Cain managed to attain the privilege of mortal birth. Under Adam’s tutelage, he began in this life to serve God. He understood the gospel and the plan of salvation, was baptized, received the priesthood, had a perfect knowledge of the position and perfection of God, and talked personally with Deity. Then he came out in open rebellion, fought God, worshiped Lucifer, and slew Abel. Cain’s sacrifice was rejected because it was offered at Satan’s command, not the Lord’s; it was not and could not be offered in faith for “he could have no faith, or could not exercise faith contrary to the plan of heaven.” (Teachings, pp 58-59.) As a result of his rebellion, Cain was cursed and told that “the earth” would not thereafter yield him its abundance as previously. In addition he became the first mortal to be cursed as a son of perdition. As a result of his mortal birth he is assured of a tangible body of flesh and bones in eternity, a fact which will enable him to rule over Satan. The Lord placed on Cain a mark of a dark skin, and he became the ancestor of the black race. (Moses 5; Gen. 4; Teachings, p. 169.)” – Bruce R. McConkie

Blacks are cursed

Mormon Doctrine, pg. 114; “However, in a broad general sense, caste systems have their root and origin in the gospel itself, and when they operate according to the divine decree, the resultant restrictions and segregation are right and proper and have the approval of the Lord. To illustrate: Cain, Ham, and the whole negro race have been cursed with a black skin, the mark of Cain, so they can be identified as a caste apart, a people with whom the other descendants of Adam should not intermarry. (Gen. 4; Moses 5.)” – Apostle Bruce R. McConkie

Negroes Denied Priesthood

Mormon Doctrine, pg 527; “Negroes in this life are denied the priesthood; under no circumstances can they hold this delegation of authority from the Almighty. (Abra. 1:20-27.) The gospel message of salvation is not carried affirmatively to them (Moses 7:8, 12, 22)…The present status of the negro rests purely and simply on the foundation of pre-existence. Along with all races and peoples he is receiving here what he merits as a result of the long pre-mortal probation in the presence of the Lord.” – Bruce McConkie

Marvin Perkins

Blacks & the Priesthood

Fireside, Westwood Chapel in Los Angeles on September 8, 2002; “There are Blacks here today who are members of the Church. Why have we not turned White? But there are Blacks who have joined the Church, married White spouse, and their children became lighter than their Black parents. Then those kids grew up to marry those that believe as they do, which most are White, so they married White, and their kids became even lighter, and so on. Makes you think a bit, doesn’t it?” – Marvin Perkins, Director of African American Relations for the Southern California Public Affairs Council

Mark Petersen

Behavior Determines Race

BYU speech on August 27, 1954, Race Problems as they Affect the Church, p.11; “With all this in mind, can we account in any other way for the birth of some of the children of God in darkest Africa, or in flood-ridden China, or among the starving hordes of India, while some of the rest of us are born here in the United States? We cannot escape the conclusion that because of performance in our pre-existence some of us are born as Chinese, some as Japanese, some as Indians, some as Negroes, some as Americans, some as Latter-day Saints. These are rewards and punishments, fully in harmony with His established policy in dealing with sinners and saints, rewarding all according to their deeds.” – Mark E. Petersen

Did this guy not think that maybe people from an African or Chinese descent could be Americans?

More from Mr. Petersen’s pulpit…

Race Problems–As They Affect the Church, August 27, 1954, address at CES convention at Brigham Young University; “Think of the Negro, cursed as to the Priesthood. Are we prejudiced against him? Unjustly, sometimes we are accused of having such a prejudice. But what does the mercy of God have for him? This negro, who, in the pre-existence lived the type of life which justified the Lord in sending him to the earth in the lineage of Cain with a black skin, and possibly being born in darkest Africa if that Negro is willing when he hears the gospel to accept it, he may have many of the blessings of the gospel. In spite of all he did in the pre-existent life, the Lord is willing, if the Negro accepts the gospel with real, sincere faith, and is really converted, to give him the blessings of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. If that Negro is faithful all his days, he can and will enter the celestial kingdom. He will go there as a servant, but he will get a celestial resurrection.” – Mark E. Petersen

Genesis 1:26-27; “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

The Mormon prophet Thomas Monson referred to Mark Petersen as someone who “personified righteousness” and “a giant among men”. How could anyone who says the darker you are the more sinful the behavior, or that the black people will be servants in heaven? How is this godly or righteous?

Imagine Mr. Petersen’s surprise when he died and saw that Jesus probably wasn’t white.

Orson Pratt

Polygamists are righteous and white

Journal of Discourses 1:63; “…among the Saints is the most likely place for these spirits to take their tabernacles, through a just and righteous parentage. They are to be sent to that people that are the most righteous of any other people upon the earth; there to be trained up properly, according to their nobility and intelligence, and according to the laws which the Lord ordained before they were born. This is the reason why the Lord is sending them here, brethren and sisters; they are appointed to come and take their bodies here, that in their generations they may be raised up among the righteous. The Lord has not kept them in store for five or six thousand years past, and kept them waitng for their bodies all this time to send them among the Hottentots, the African negroes, the idolatrous Hindoos, or any other of the fallen nations that dwell upon the face of this earth.They are not kept in reserve in order to come forth to receive such a degraded parentage upon the earth; no, the Lord is not such a being.” – Orson Pratt, Salt Lake City, August 29, 1852

Lamanites drove Nephites north to New York

Journal of Discourses 14:11-12; “The twelve disciples went forth and preached the Gospel, commencing in South America, and then went into North America, until all the people both in North and South America were converted, receiving the principles of the Gospel—namely, baptism, and the laying on of hands, and all the other principles as preached in our day. About two centuries after this, the Nephites fell into wickedness: the Lamanites, who dwelt in the southern portion of South America, also apostatized; and they began to wage war with the Nephites, who were their enemies; and being exceedingly strong they drove all the Nephites out of South America and followed them with their armies up into the north country, and finally overpowered them. They were gathered together south of the great lakes in the country which we term New York. The Lord ordered that the plates on which the records were kept should be hid, and one of the prophets knowing that it was the last struggle of his nation, hid them in the hill Cumorah, in Ontario county, in the State of New York, with the exception of those which his son Moroni, who was also a prophet, had. The last account that we have is furnished to us by Moroni, who states that, after keeping himself hid for several years, and being commanded of the Lord, he hid away the records, about 420 years after Christ. Thus, I have given you a very brief history of the settlement of our country.” – Orson Pratt, Salt Lake City, February 19, 1871

Parley Pratt

Blacks not Equally Intelligent with White Folk

Journal of Discourses 1:257; “In the first place, if all men were created alike, if all had the same degree of intelligence and purity of disposition, all would be equal. But, notwithstanding the declaration of American sages, and of the fathers of our country, to the contrary, it is a fact that all beings are not equal in their intellectual capacity, in their dispositions, and in the gifts and callings of God. It is a fact that some beings are more intelligent than others, and some are endowed with abilities or gifts which others do not possess.” – Parley Pratt, Salt Lake City, April 10, 1853

Blacks were Eternally Inferior

Journal of Discourses 1:257-258; “…It may be inquired, why God made one unequal to another, or inferior in intellect or capacity. To which I reply, that He did not create their intelligence at all. It never was created, being an inherent attribute of the eternal element called spirit, which element composes each individual spirit, and which element exists in an infinitude of degrees in the scale of intellect, in all the varieties manifested in the eternal God, and thence to the lowest agent, which acts by its own will. It is a fixed law of nature that the higher intelligence presides over, or has more or less influence over, or control of, that which is less. The Lord, in surveying the eternal intelligences which stood before Him, found some more noble or intellectual than others, who were equally innocent. This being so, He exercised the elective franchise upon wise principles, and, like a good and kind father among his children, He chose those for rulers who were most capable of benefiting the residue. Among these was our noble ancestor, Abraham.” – Parley Pratt, Salt Lake City, April 10, 1853

Where Is Wisdom? p. 390; “…Intermarriage between members of these great racial divisions are possible, but the progeny are usually feeble, not long-lived, and of poor physical quality; and no permanent self-propagating, homogeneous races can be generated by such intermarriages. Hence these different classes of mankind amount in effect to a difference in species. … Then as regards language, there is a very important difference…The Negro languages are also simple and not adapted for conveying any but the simplest ideas and thoughts.” – Stephen L Richards, 1955

B.H. Roberts

Denial of Equality

Church Instructional Manual, First Year Book in the Seventy’s Course in Theology, pages 231-233; “Perhaps the most convincing book in JUSTIFICATION of the south in DENYING TO THE NEGRO RACE SOCIAL EQUALITY with the white race is the one written by William Benjamin Smith, entitled The Color Line, A Brief in Behalf of the Unborn, from which the following is a quotation:
“’Here, then, is laid bare the news of the whole matter: Is the south JUSTIFIED in this ABSOLUTE DENIAL OF SOCIAL EQUALITY to the NEGRO, no matter what his (personal) virtues or abilities or accomplishments? “’We affirm, then that the south is ENTIRELY RIGHT in thus keeping open at all times, at all hazards, and at all sacrifices an IMPASSIBLE SOCIAL CHASM BETWEEN BLACK AND WHITE. This she must do in behalf of her blood, her essence, of the stock of her Caucasian race…. The moment the bar of ABSOLUTE SEPERATION is thrown down in the south, that moment the bloom of her spirit is BLIGHTED FOREVER,… That the negro is MARKEDLY INFERIOR to the Caucasian is proved both craniologically and by six thousand years of planet-wide experimentation; and that the commingling of INFERIOR with SUPERIOR must lower the higher is just as certain as that the half-sum of two and six is only four.’” – BH Roberts, The Color Line, pgs 7-12

George A. Smith

Blacks are Cursed & Cannot Hold Priesthood

Journal of Discourses 3:29; “When the curse of the Almighty comes upon a people, it certainly is the work of generations to remove it. When Cain brought a curse upon his own head, and that of his household, his after generations bore the same curse. The curse that came upon Canaan, the son of Ham, has extended to a great portion of the human race, and has continued to the present day…

When God had decreed a certain way for men to be in servitude, and has designed they shall hold that position, it is worse than useless for any man or set of men, to undertake to put them in a position to rule.

The Lord conferred portions of the Priesthood upon certain races of men, and through promises made to their fathers they were entitled to the rights, and blessings, and privileges of that Priesthood. Other races, in consequence of their corruptions, their murders, their wickedness, or the wickedness of their fathers, had the Priesthood taken from them, and the curse that was upon them was decreed should descend upon their posterity after them, it was decreed that they should not bear rule.” – Elder G.A. Smith, September 23, 1855, Salt Lake City

Joseph Fielding Smith

Cain was not made black, but descendants were

Answers to Gospel Questions 2:175, 176; “The next question: “Was Cain cursed with a black skin?” Technically the black skin was not the curse, but the mark of the curse. The scriptures do not say that Cain was made black, but we read that his descendants were. (Moses 7:22.)… Could it not be said of Ham that he was righteous in that he followed his father into the Ark? The seed of Cain had to be preserved, and Cain was chosen for that mission. It is very possible that Ham received his name due to the fact that he married a black woman. We learn that the names of many individuals in those early years were given them—and often changed—due to incidents which occurred in their lives. For example, Esau’s name was changed to Edom, and Jacob’s name to Israel, and Abraham was at first known as Abram. It is likely that Ham’s name was changed because he had a black wife, for ham is an adjective in Egyptian for black. The name Egyptus means forbidden. (Abraham 1:23.) Is it not reasonable to believe that this has reference to the fact that her descendants, as well as her ancestors, were denied some great blessing? And that that great blessing was denial of the priesthood?”

Blacks can join church, but not receive a full salvation

Answers to Gospel Questions 2:178; “Fortunately for the Negro, he is not denied entrance into the Church. He may be baptized for the remission of his sins and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and if true and faithful to the end, he may enter the celestial kingdom. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds out more for the Negro than any other religious denomination. Salvation in the Kingdom of God is open to him, with the promise that in the due time of the Lord, if he receives the gospel, all restrictions will be removed. We have in the Church many good, honest, faithful Negroes who fully understand. Blacks Cannot Hold Priesthood.”

Equality in America

Answers to Gospel Questions 2:184, 188; “During the past decade there has arisen in this country, the United States, a wave of “non-segregation,” that is, that there should be an equality in all things between the white races and the black or Negro race. This doctrine of social equality and the common mingling of these races is said to be made for the purpose of eventually eliminating the Negro race by absorption through intermarriage…Kindly see chapters 15 and 16, in The Way to Perfection, for further light in relation to the reason why the Negro cannot receive the priesthood. In brief, it is as follows: Because of transgression in the first estate which deprives him in this second estate. Since Cain slew his brother Abel in order to obtain all the rights of priesthood to descend through his lineage, the Lord decreed that the children of Cain should not have the privilege of bearing the priesthood until Abel had posterity who could have the priesthood and that will have to be in the far distant future. When this is accomplished on some other world, then the restrictions will be removed from the children of Cain who have been true in this “second” estate.” – Joseph Fielding Smith

Lamanites Will Turn White

Answers to Gospel Questions 3:123; “After the people again forgot the Lord and dissensions arose, some of them took upon themselves the name Lamanites and the dark skin returned. When the Lamanites fully repent and sincerely receive the gospel, the Lord has promised to remove the dark skin.” – Joseph Fielding Smith

Blacks can be saved in Celestial kingdom

Answers to Gospel Questions 4:171; “Therefore if a Negro joins the Church through the waters of baptism and is confirmed by the laying on of hands and then he remains faithful and true to the teachings of the Church and in keeping the commandments the Lord has given, he will come forth in the first resurrection and will enter the celestial kingdom of God. What other church can make a better promise? Moreover we know whereof we speak, for the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored with all its powers and divine authority. The Negro who accepts the doctrines of the Church and is baptized by an authorized minister of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is entitled to salvation in the celestial kingdom or the highest heaven spoken of by Paul. It is true that the work of the ministry is given to other peoples and why should the so-called Christian denominations complain? How many Negroes have been placed as ministers over white congregations in the so-called Christian denominations? It appears that a great deal of noise has been made over a problem that does not really exist or is not peculiar to the Latter-day Saints! Every man whether he seeks office or to maintain a good name in the community should be judged by his devotion and integrity to principles of truth and righteousness, not condemned through rumors, prejudices, or the views of others. It is strange that so many persons are tried and condemned by well-meaning people because of assumed notions and prejudice without a true knowledge of the facts.”

Free agency in the pre-existence

Doctrines of Salvation 1:58; “God gave his children their free agency even in the spirit world, by which the individual spirits had the privilege, just as men have here, of choosing the good and rejecting the evil, or partaking of the evil to suffer the consequences of their sins. Because of this, some even there were more faithful than others in keeping the commandments of the Lord. Some were of greater intelligence than others, as we find it here, and were honored accordingly….” – Joseph Fielding Smith

No Neutrals in Heaven, All Spirits Innocent

Doctrines of Salvation 1:61; “WHY MEN ARE BORN TO DIFFERENT RACES. We are the children of God. He is our Father and he loves us. He loves all men whether they be white or black. No matter what their color, no matter what the conditions under which they were born and reared, the Lord looks upon all his children in mercy and will do for them just the best that he can. There is a reason why one man is born black and with other disadvantages, while another is born white with great advantages. The reason is that we once had an estate before we came here, and were obedient, more or less, to the laws that were given us there. Those who were faithful in all things there received greater blessings here, and those who were not faithful received less.”

No Neutrals in Heaven, All Spirits Innocent

Doctrines of Salvation 1:65; “NO NEUTRALS IN HEAVEN. There were no neutrals in the war in heaven. All took sides either with Christ or with Satan. Every man had his agency there, and men receive rewards here based upon their actions there, just as they will receive rewards hereafter for deeds done in the body. The Negro, evidently, is receiving the reward he merits. The Lord has said, “Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God.””

Negroes Under Restriction

Doctrines of Salvation 2:55; “The only souls coming to this world who are under restriction are the Negroes, and they cannot hold the priesthood; but Negroes may be baptized, and we have many Negroes in the Church. Therefore, by what right or reason are we going to deprive innocent children whether they are black, brown, or yellow who die in their infancy-innocent and without sin-from entering the celestial kingdom? If a Negro can receive the celestial kingdom by baptism, and the Chinese, Japanese and all other races, where would there be consistency in saying that any children, because they are born under adverse circumstances, should be deprived of entrance into that kingdom? It seems definitely clear that the Lord means exactly what he said to the Prophet Joseph Smith.”

Is Cain Satan?

Doctrines of Salvation 2:279; “CAIN TO RULE OVER SATAN. Sons of perdition will have an ascendancy over Satan himself, because he has no body. But who is Perdition? The Lord said to Cain: “If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire. And thou shalt rule over him; For from this time forth thou shalt be the father of his lies; thou shalt be called Perdition; for thou wast also before the world.””

Some sinned before birth

Way to Perfection, pg. 44-45; “It is a reasonable conclusion however, that there were many who did not stand valiantly with Michael in the great battle for the protection of the free agency and the plan for the merited exaltation of mankind, although they may not have openly rebelled. We may justify ourselves in this conclusion by several passages of scripture which seem to have a bearing on this thought. Man had his agency and because of it one-third of the hosts rebelled. We naturally conclude that others among the two-thirds did not show the loyalty to their Redeemer that they should. Their sins was not one that merited the extreme punishment which was inflicted on the devil and his angels. They were not denied the privilege of receiving the second estate, but were permitted to come to the earth-life with some restrictions placed upon them. That the negro race, for instance, have been placed under restrictions because of their attitude in the world of spirits, few will doubt. It cannot be looked upon as just that they should be deprived of the power of the Priesthood without it being a punishment for some act, or acts, performed before they were born. Yet, like all other spirits who come into this world, they come innocent before God so far as mortal existence is concerned, and here, under certain restrictions, they may work out their second estate. If they prove faithful in this estate, without doubt, our Eternal Father, who is just and true, will reward them accordingly and there will be in store for them some blessings of exaltation.

SOME SINNED BEFORE BIRTH This doctrine that man could, and did in many instances, sin before he was born, was well understood in ancient times. We have the instance of the question put to the Savior regarding the man born blind. If this question had been an improper one, and the doctrine false, the Savior would have corrected it by saying, “Ye do err, for no man could sin before he was born.” This the Lord did not do, but by implication seemed to confirm the doctrine in his answer: “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.””

Blacks Not Born Innocent

Way to Perfection, pg. 102; “In the spirit of sympathy, mercy and faith, we will also hope that blessings may eventually be given to our negro brethren, for they are our brethren-children of God-notwithstanding their black covering emblematical of eternal darkness.” – Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith

The LDS book used above was written in 1949 by then apostle Joseph Fielding Smith who later became the tenth president/prophet of the Church.

Cain, Mark of

Way to Perfection, pg. 106; “President Woodruff, in his journal, records the words of President Young as follows: The Lord said, I will not kill Cain, but I will put a mark upon him, and that mark will be seen upon the face of every negro upon the face of the earth; and it is the decree of God that that mark shall remain upon the seed of Cain until the seed of Abel shall be redeemed, and Cain shall not receive the Priesthood, until the time of that redemption. Any man having one drop of the seed of Cain in him cannot receive the Priesthood; but the day will come when all that race will be redeemed and possess all the blessings which we now have.-History of Wilford Woodruff, p. 351.” – Joseph Fielding Smith

What in the world? Why would anyone born of God say such awful things about an entire race of people, God’s creation?

Cain Despised Among All People

Way to Perfection, pg. 110; “The name of Ham is also rather significant, for it means “swarthy” or “black.” It is possible that this is an appellation given to the third son of Noah because of the part he played in preserving through his lineage-and that most likely, as we have tried to show, through his wife Egyptus-the race of blacks upon whom the curse was placed. Piecing together the evidence as we discover it in holy writ and in tradition, we are brought to the conclusion that Ham, through Egyptus, continued the curse which was placed upon the seed of Cain. Because of that curse this dark race was separated and isolated from all the rest of Adam’s posterity before the flood, and since that time the same condition has continued, and they have been “despised among all people.” This doctrine did not originate with President Brigham Young but was taught by the Prophet Joseph Smith.” – Joseph Fielding Smith

Joseph Smith, Jr.

Don’t let blacks into Church

History of the Church 1:378; “The Evening and Morning Star” Extra. July 16, 1833. Having learned with extreme regret, that an article entitled, “Free People of Color,” in the last number of the Star, has been misunderstood, we feel in duty bound to state, in this Extra, that our intention was not only to stop free people of color from emigrating to this state, but to prevent them from being admitted as members of the Church.”

Sons of Canaan still carry the curse

History of the Church 2:436-438; “…I am aware that many, who PROFESS to preach the Gospel, complain against their brethren of the same faith, who reside in the South, and are ready to withdraw the hand of fellowship, because they will not renounce the principle of slavery, and raise their voice against every thing of the kind. This must be a tender point, and one which should call forth the candid reflections of all men, and more especially before they advance in an opposition calculated to lay waste the fair states of the South, and let loose upon the world a community of people, who might, peradventure, OVERRUN OUR COUNTRY, AND VIOLATE THE MOST SACRED PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN SOCIETY, CHASTITY AND VIRTUE….

…I do not believe that the people of the North have any more right to say that the South shall not hold slaves, than the South have to say the North shall. “How any community can ever be excited with the CHATTER of such persons, boys and others, who are too indolent to obtain their living by honest industry, and are incapable of pursuing any occupation of a professional nature, is unaccountable to me; and when I see persons in the free states, signing documents against slavery, it is no less, in my mind, than an army of influence, and a DECLARATION OF HOSTILITIES, against the people of the South.

What course can sooner divide our union? “After having expressed myself so freely upon this subject, I do not doubt, but those who have been forward in raising their voices against the South, will cry out against me as being uncharitable, unfeeling, unkind, and wholly unacquainted with the Gospel of Christ….the first mention we have of SLAVERY is found in the Holy Bible,…

Slavery Shouldn’t End, Curse of Ham in Effect

History of the Church 2:437-438; “And so far from that prediction being averse to the mind of God, it remains as a lasting monument of the DECREE OF JEHOVAH, to the shame and confusion of all who HAVE CRIED OUT against the South, in consequence of their holding the sons of Ham in SERVITUDE….

…I can say, the CURSE IS NOT YET TAKEN OFF FROM THE SONS OF CANAAN, neither will be until it is affected by as great a power as caused it to come; and the people who INTERFERE THE LEAST WITH THE PURPOSES OF GOD in this matter, will come under the LEAST CONDEMNATION BEFORE HIM; and those who are determined to pursue a course, which shows an opposition, and a feverish restlessness against the DECREES OF THE LORD, will learn, when perhaps it is too late for their own good, that God can do his own work, without the aid of those who are not dictated by His counsel.”

Blacks came into the world as slaves mentally

History of the Church 5:217; “At five went to Mr. Sollars’ with Elders Hyde and Richards. Elder Hyde inquired the situation of the negro. I replied, they came into the world slaves mentally and physically. Change their situation with the whites, and they would be like them. They have souls, and are subjects of salvation. Go into Cincinnati or any city, and find an educated negro, who rides in his carriage, and you will see a man who has risen by the powers of his own mind to his exalted state of respectability. The slaves in Washington are more refined than many in high places, and the black boys will take the shine of many of those they brush and wait on.Elder Hyde remarked, “Put them on the level, and they will rise above me.” I replied, if I raised you to be my equal, and then attempted to oppress you, would you not be indignant and try to rise above me, as did Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer, and many others, who said I was a fallen Prophet, and they were capable of leading the people, although I never attempted to oppress them, but had always been lifting them up? Had I anything to do with the negro, I would confine them by strict law to their own species, and put them on a national equalization.” – Joseph Smith – also see Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg 269

Freeing Slaves Endangers Female Chastity

Messenger and Advocate, Vol. 2, No. 7, pp 289, 300, April 1836; “I am aware, that many who profess to preach the gospel, complain against their brethren of the same faith, who reside in the south, and are ready to withdraw the hand of fellowship because they will not renounce the principle of slavery and raise their voice against every thing of the kind. This must be a tender point, and one which should call forth the candid reflection of all men, and especially before they advance in an opposition calculated to lay waste the fair States of the South, and set loose, upon the world a community of people who might peradventure, overrun our country and violate the most sacred principles of human society, – chastity and virtue.” – Joseph Smith

Blacks Should Remain Slaves

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg 120; “Thirteenth—”Are the Mormons abolitionists?” No, unless delivering the people from priestcraft, and the priests from the power of Satan, should be considered abolition. But we do not believe in setting the negroes free.”

Erastus Snow

Curse of Cain & the priesthood

Journal of Discourses 21:370; “…Then when Cain found that his offering was not accepted, and his brother, Abel’s was accepted, Satan tempted him, and entered into him and led him into the way of all apostates,—he became possessed with the spirit of murder. I mention it as the first apostacy of which we have record after the fall of man, through it Cain lost his privilege as first-born, and the blessing fell on one more worthy, and the rights of the priesthood passed to the next son of Adam, which according to Bible record was Seth, who magnified the Priesthood, honored his birth-right, and held the blessing of the Priesthood, which was sealed upon him by his father; and from him it descended upon the righteous of his posterity.” – Erastus Snow

A letter that George Romney received in 1964 (when Romney was governor of Michigan) from a Mormon apostle named Delbert L. Stapley. The letter encouraged Romney to reconsider his pro-civil rights position. In the months after receiving this letter, George Romney stepped up his support for civil rights.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Council of The Twelve

…

To read the letter in its entirety, click on link provided above, or scroll down to end of page.

James E. Talmage

American Indians Live in Degraded Course

Jesus the Christ, pg 46; “The Nephites suffered extinction about 400 A.D., but the Lamanites lived on in their degraded course, and are today extant upon the land as the American Indians.”

John Taylor

Blacks are Satan’s Representatives after Flood

Gospel Kingdom, pgs. 103; “…And then the devil put on a long face and said, I imagined I had got rid of these fellows; but they are going to have a chance yet that I did not think of. And after the flood we are told that the curse that had been pronounced upon Cain was continued through Ham’s wife, as he had married a wife of that seed. And why did it pass through the flood? Because it was necessary that the devil should have a representation upon the earth as well as God.” – John Taylor

1. Ham’s name means “burnt”.

2. Cain lived circa 3979 BC. Ham lived circa 2440 BC.

3. The Mormons teach that being black is a sin and therefore evil.

4. The Bible clearly states the curse was upon Canaan because of Ham’s behavior, not because of his color (Gen. 9:18-29).

5. The Bible never gives the name of Ham’s wife or her race.

Gospel Kingdom is a collection of thoughts and writings of John Taylor, 3rd prophet of the LDS Church.

John Taylor Superior to Horace Greeley

Journal of Discourses 5:119; “… I WOULD NOT TALK TO HIM: I FELT MYSELF SUPERIOR TO SUCH A MEAN CONTEMPTIBLE CUR. I knew he was not after truth, but falsehood. “This Greeley is one of their popular characters in the East, and one that supports the stealing of NIGGERS and the underground railroad….he is one of the prominent newspaper editors in the Eastern country, and he is a POOR, MISERABLE CURSE.” – John Taylor, Salt Lake City, August 9, 1857

Opposition in all things

Journal of Discourses 22:301; “And Cain listened to the advice of Satan, and as the devil was a murderer and a liar from the beginning, so he induced Cain to become the same, and he instigated him to kill his brother Abel. Here were the two power represented in the two men, that of God in Abel, and that of Satan in Cain; and thus the warfare commenced, and the opposition was inaugurated, for we are told it was necessary there should be an opposition in all things. And furthermore, we are told that it became him of whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through suffering.” – John Taylor, Provo, Utah, August 28, 1881

Cain is the Devil’s Representative after the Flood

Journal of Discourses 22:304-305; “And after the flood we are told that the curse that had been pronounced upon Cain was continued through Ham’s wife, as he had married a wife of that seed. And why did it pass through the flood? Because it was necessary that the devil should have a representation upon the earth as well as God; and that man should be a free agent to act for himself.” – John Taylor, Provo, Utah, August 28, 1881

Wilford Woodruff

Black Woman will be White in Heaven

Wilford Woodruff, His Life and Labors, pg 587; “There is one peculiar characteristic noticeable in the journal of Wilford Woodruff, it is that hopeful, joyful spirit that dwells with ever increasing satisfaction upon the things that are good and uplifting. He had a spirit of appreciation for the good things of life, he loved to dwell upon the good deeds of others, and though now and then he spoke out in prophetic utterance against the evils of the world, he was nevertheless prone to see the good quicker than the evil. He said in his journal of October, that year, that “Aunt Jane,” the colored sister, had been to see him. She was anxious to go through the Temple and receive the higher ordinances of the gospel. President Woodruff blessed her for her constant, never changing devotion to the gospel, but explained to her her disadvantages as one of the descendants of Cain.

In after years when President Joseph F. Smith preached the funeral sermon of this same faithful woman he declared that she would in the resurrection attain the longings of her soul and become a white and beautiful person.”

Brigham Young

Mark of Cain will be removed after all black people are born

Journal of Discourses 2:143; “We have this illustrated in the account of Cain and Abel. Cain conversed with his God every day, and knew all about the plan of creating this earth, for his father told him. But, for the want of humility, and through jealousy, and an anxiety to possess the kingdom, and to have the whole of it under his own control, and not allow anybody else the right to say one word, what did he do? He killed his brother. The Lord put a mark on him; and there are some of his children in this room. When all the other children of Adam have had the privilege of receiving the Priesthood, and of coming into the kingdom of God, and of being redeemed from the four quarters of the earth, and have received their resurrection from the dead, then it will be time enough to remove the curse from Cain and his posterity. He deprived his brother of the privilege of pursuing his journey through life, and of extending his kingdom by multiplying upon the earth; and because he did this, he is the last to share the joys of the kingdom of God.” – Brigham Young, Salt Lake City, December 3, 1854

Indians will become white and delightsome

Journal of Discourses 2:143; “Here are the Lamanites, another example. Their wickedness was not so great as those who slew the Son of God. Jesus revealed himself to them after he was slain, preached to them the Gospel. But in the fourth generation the Priesthood was driven from their midst, and after that, the laws, ordinances, and power of the Gospel ceased to be with them. Is their curse as great as that of those in Palestine? No, it is light, in comparison. They began to thirst for each other’s blood, and massacred each other, from generation to generation, until they sunk into wickedness, and evil principles the most degrading, and have become loathsome and vile. Still, the curse will be removed from them before it will be removed from the children of Judah; and they will become “a white and delightsome people.”” – Salt Lake City, December 3, 1854

Blacks to be used as slaves & have no priesthood

Journal of Discourses 2:184; “The seed of Ham, which is the seed of Cain descending through Ham, will, according to the curse put upon him, serve his brethren, and be a “servant of servants” to his fellow-creatures, until God removes the curse; and no power can hinder it. These are my views upon slavery. I will here say a little more upon this point. The conduct of the whites towards the slaves will, in many cases, send both slave and master to hell. This statement comprises much in a few words. The blacks should be used like servants, and not like brutes, but they must serve. It is their privilege to live so as to enjoy many of the blessings which attend obedience to the first principles of the Gospel, though they are not entitled to the Priesthood.” – Brigham Young, Salt Lake City, February 18, 1855

Apostates Turn Black and Wrinkly

Journal of Discourses 5:332; “Apostates will … become gray-haired, wrinkled, and black, just like the Devil.” – Brigham Young, Salt Lake City, October 7, 1857

Blacks are Uncouth, Uncomely

Journal of Discourses 7:291; “You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind. The first man that committed the odious crime of killing one of his brethren will be cursed the longest of any one of the children of Adam. Cain slew his brother. Cain might have been killed, and that would have put a termination to that line of human beings. This was not to be, and the Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and black skin. Trace mankind down to after the flood, and then another curse is pronounced upon the same race—that they should be the “servant of servants;” and they will be, until that curse is removed; and the Abolitionists cannot help it, nor in the least alter that decree. How long is that race to endure the dreadful curse that is upon them? That curse will remain upon them, and they never can hold the Priesthood or share in it until all the other descendants of Adam have received the promises and enjoyed the blessings of the Priesthood and the keys thereof. Until the last ones of the residue of Adam’s children are brought up to that favourable position, the children of Cain cannot receive the first ordinances of the Priesthood. They were the first that were cursed, and they will be the last from whom the curse will be removed. When the residue of the family of Adam come up and receive their blessings, then the curse will be removed from the seed of Cain, and they will receive blessings in like proportion.” – Brigham Young, Salt Lake City, October 9, 1859

Indians don’t Know They’re Cursed, Dark & Loathsome

Journal of Discourses 7:337; “You may inquire of the intelligent of the world whether they can tell why the aborigines of this country are dark, loathsome, ignorant, and sunken into the depths of degradation; and they cannot tell. I can tell you in a few words: They are the seed of Joseph, and belong to the household of God; and he will afflict them in this world, and save every one of them hereafter, even though they previously go into hell. When the Lord has a people, he makes covenants with them and gives unto them promises: then, if they transgress his law, change his ordinances, and break the covenants he has made with them, he will put a mark upon them, as in the case of the Lamanites and other portions of the house of Israel; but by-and-by they will become a white and delightsome people.” – Brigham Young, Salt Lake City, October 8, 1859

Blacks & whites shouldn’t mix

Journal of Discourses 10:110-111; “Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so.” – Brigham Young, Salt Lake City, March 8, 1863

Journal of Discourses 10:250; “Ham will continue to be the servant of servants, as the Lord has decreed, until the curse is removed. Will the present struggle free the slave? No; but they are now wasting away the black race by thousands. Many of the blacks are treated worse than we treat our dumb brutes; and men will be called to judgment for the way they have treated the negro, and they will receive the condemnation of a guilty conscience, by the just Judge whose attributes are justice and truth. Treat the slaves kindly and let them live, for Ham must be the servant of servants until the curse is removed.” – Brigham Young, Salt Lake City, October 6, 1863

Treat blacks as slaves

Journal of Discourses 10:250; “Treat the slaves kindly and let them live, for Ham must be the servant of servants until the curse is removed. Can you destroy the decrees of the Almighty? You cannot. Yet our Christian brethren think that they are going to overthrow the sentence of the Almighty upon the seed of Ham. They cannot do that, though they may kill them by thousands and tens of thousands.” – Brigham Young, Salt Lake City, October 6, 1863

Blacks go down to death

Journal of Discourses 11:272; “The Lamanites or Indians are just as much the children of our Father and God as we are. So also are the Africans. But we are also the children of adoption through obedience to the Gospel of his Son. Why are so many of the inhabitants of the earth cursed with a sin of blackness? It comes in consequence of their fathers rejecting the power of the Holy Priesthood, and the law of God. They will go down to death. And when all the rest of the children have received their blessings in the Holy Priesthood, then that curse will be removed from the seed of Cain, and they will then come up and possess the priesthood, and receive all the blessings which we now are entitled to.” – Brigham Young, Salt Lake City, August 19, 1866

LDS Church, Mormon Scriptures and Other Resources

First Presidency Statement on August 17, 1951, reads;

“The position of the LDS Church regarding the Negro may be understood when another doctrine of the church is kept in mind, namely, that the conduct of spirits in the pre-mortal existence has some determining effect upon the conditions and circumstances under which these spirits take on mortality, and that while the details of this principle have not been made known, the principle itself indicates that the coming to this earth and taking on mortality is a privilege that is given to those who maintained their first estate; and that the worth of the privilege is so great that spirits are willing to come to earth and take on bodies no matter what the handicap may be as to the kind of bodies they are to secure; and that among the handicaps, failure of the right to enjoy in mortality the blessings of the priesthood is a handicap which spirits are willing to assume in order that they might come to earth. Under this principle there is no injustice whatsoever involved in this deprivation as to the holding of the priesthood by the Negroes…..”

Mormon Newsroom

All are Alike unto God

OFFICIAL STATEMENT, Race and the Church: All Are Alike Unto God; “The gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone. The Book of Mormon states, “black and white, bond and free, male and female; … all are alike unto God” (2 Nephi 26:33). This is the Church’s official teaching.

People of all races have always been welcomed and baptized into the Church since its beginning. In fact, by the end of his life in 1844 Joseph Smith, the founding prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, opposed slavery. During this time some black males were ordained to the priesthood. At some point the Church stopped ordaining male members of African descent, although there were a few exceptions. It is not known precisely why, how or when this restriction began in the Church, but it has ended. Church leaders sought divine guidance regarding the issue and more than three decades ago extended the priesthood to all worthy male members. The Church immediately began ordaining members to priesthood offices wherever they attended throughout the world.

The Church unequivocally condemns racism, including any and all past racism by individuals both inside and outside the Church. In 2006, then Church president Gordon B. Hinckley declared that “no man who makes disparaging remarks concerning those of another race can consider himself a true disciple of Christ. Nor can he consider himself to be in harmony with the teachings of the Church. Let us all recognize that each of us is a son or daughter of our Father in Heaven, who loves all of His children.”

Recently, the Church has also made the following statement on this subject:

“The origins of priesthood availability are not entirely clear. Some explanations with respect to this matter were made in the absence of direct revelation and references to these explanations are sometimes cited in publications. These previous personal statements do not represent Church doctrine.””

Mormon Newsroom

Reason for Priesthood Ban on Blacks Unclear

RESPONSE — 29 FEBRUARY 2012, Church Statement Regarding ‘Washington Post’ Article on Race and the Church, SALT LAKE CITY; “The Church issued the following statement today in response to news media requests:

The positions attributed to BYU professor Randy Bott in a recent Washington Post article absolutely do not represent the teachings and doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. BYU faculty members do not speak for the Church. It is unfortunate that the Church was not given a chance to respond to what others said.

The Church’s position is clear—we believe all people are God’s children and are equal in His eyes and in the Church. We do not tolerate racism in any form.

For a time in the Church there was a restriction on the priesthood for male members of African descent. It is not known precisely why, how, or when this restriction began in the Church but what is clear is that it ended decades ago. Some have attempted to explain the reason for this restriction but these attempts should be viewed as speculation and opinion, not doctrine. The Church is not bound by speculation or opinions given with limited understanding.

We condemn racism, including any and all past racism by individuals both inside and outside the Church.”

Book of Mormon

Mary is Fair & White

1 Nephi 11:13; “And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.”

Lamanites Filthy & Dark

1 Nephi 12:23; “And it came to pass that I beheld, after they had dwindled in unbelief they became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations.”

Spirit of the Lord Upon Beautiful, White People

1 Nephi 13:15; “And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.”

Dark Skin because of Sin

2 Nephi 5:21; “And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them.”

Blacks and Whites are Saved

2 Nephi 26:33; “For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.”

White Skin because of Righteousness

2 Nephi 30:6; “And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a pure and a delightsome people.”

Lamanites are Filthy

Jacob 3:5; “Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate because of their filthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins, are more righteous than you; for they have not forgotten the commandment of the Lord, which was given unto our father—that they should have save it were one wife, and concubines they should have none, and there should not be whoredoms committed among them.”

Nephites will be Darker than Lamanites if They don’t Repent

Jacob 3:8-9; “O my brethren, I fear that unless ye shall repent of your sins that their skins will be whiter than yours, when ye shall be brought with them before the throne of God.9 Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, which is the word of God, that ye revile no more against them because of the darkness of their skins; neither shall ye revile against them because of their filthiness; but ye shall remember your own filthiness, and remember that their filthiness came because of their fathers.”

Lamanites Lazy & Filthy

Mosiah 9:12; “Now they were a lazy and an idolatrous people; therefore they were desirous to bring us into bondage, that they might glut themselves with the labors of our hands; yea, that they might feast themselves upon the flocks of our fields.”

Dark Skin because of Sin

Alma 3:6; “And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a curse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion against their brethren, who consisted of Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph, and Sam, who were just and holy men.“

Dark Skin because of Sin

Alma 3:8; “And this was done that their seed might be distinguished from the seed of their brethren, that thereby the Lord God might preserve his people, that they might not mix and believe in incorrect traditions which would prove their destruction.“

Don’t Mix Seed with Lamanites

Alma 3:9; “And it came to pass that whosoever did mingle his seed with that of the Lamanites did bring the same curse upon his seed.”

Lamanites Cursed & Separated

Alma 3:14; “Thus the word of God is fulfilled, for these are the words which he said to Nephi: Behold, the Lamanites have I cursed, and I will set a mark on them that they and their seed may be separated from thee and thy seed, from this time henceforth and forever, except they repent of their wickedness and turn to me that I may have mercy upon them.”

Lamanites Caused Their Skin to be Dark

Alma 3:19; “Now I would that ye should see that they brought upon themselves the curse; and even so doth every man that is cursed bring upon himself his own condemnation.”

Curse of God “Did no More Follow Them”

Alma 23:18; “And they began to be a very industrious people; yea, and they were friendly with the Nephites; therefore, they did open a correspondence with them, and the curse of God did no more follow them. “

Inequality Comes from Sin

Alma 28:13; “And thus we see how great the inequality of man is because of sin and transgression, and the power of the devil, which comes by the cunning plans which he hath devised to ensnare the hearts of men.”

Helaman 13:17; “And behold, a curse shall come upon the land, saith the Lord of Hosts, because of the peoples’ sake who are upon the land, yea, because of their wickedness and their abominations.”

White Skin because of Righteousness

3 Nephi 2:14-16; “And it came to pass that those Lamanites who had united with the Nephites were numbered among the Nephites;15 And their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites;16 And their young men and their daughters became exceedingly fair, and they were numbered among the Nephites, and were called Nephites. And thus ended the thirteenth year.”

Righteous are White

3 Nephi 19:25, 30; “And it came to pass that Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him; and his countenance did smile upon them, and the light of his countenance did shine upon them, and behold they were as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness thereof did exceed all the whiteness, yea, even there could be nothing upon earth so white as the whiteness thereof… And when Jesus had spoken these words he came again unto his disciples; and behold they did pray steadfastly, without ceasing, unto him; and he did smile upon them again; and behold they were white, even as Jesus.”

It sounds like their god is a god of magic.

Lamanites Filthy, Dark & Loathsome

Mormon 5:15; “And also that the seed of this people may more fully believe his gospel, which shall go forth unto them from the Gentiles; for this people shall be scattered, and shall become a dark, a filthy, and a loathsome people, beyond the description of that which ever hath been amongst us, yea, even that which hath been among the Lamanites, and this because of their unbelief and idolatry.”

Lamanites Once White & Delightsome

Mormon 5:17; “They were once a delightsome people, and they had Christ for their shepherd; yea, they were led even by God the Father.”

Cleansed by God Means You’re Fair & White

Mormon 9:6; “O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day.”

Lamanites Lazy & Filthy

Mormon 9:12; “Now they were a lazy and an idolatrous people; therefore they were desirous to bring us into bondage, that they might glut themselves with the labors of our hands; yea, that they might feast themselves upon the flocks of our fields.”

Land & People Cursed

Ether 14:1; “And now there began to be a great curse upon all the land because of the iniquity of the people, in which, if a man should lay his tool or his sword upon his shelf, or upon the place whither he would keep it, behold, upon the morrow, he could not find it, so great was the curse upon the land.”

Contrary Doctrine

D&C 1:35; “For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion.”

Romans 16:17-18; “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”

Then explain why the blacks weren’t worthy until 1978.

Lamanites to be Saved

D&C 3:20; “And that the Lamanites might come to the knowledge of their fathers, and that they might know the promises of the Lord, and that they may believe the gospel and rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ, and be glorified through faith in his name, and that through their repentance they might be saved. Amen.”

Lamanites to Blossom as a Rose

D&C 49:24; “But before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose.”

Cursed Remnant of Jacob are Wild & Savage

D&C 109:65; “And cause that the remnants of Jacob, who have been cursed and smitten because of their transgression, be converted from their wild and savage condition to the fulness of the everlasting gospel;66 That they may lay down their weapons of bloodshed, and cease their rebellions.”

Pearl of Great Price

Blacks Despised

Moses 7:8; “For behold, the Lord shall curse the land with much heat, and the barrenness thereof shall go forth forever; and there was a blackness came upon all the children of Canaan, that they were despised among all people.”

Those the Lord can and will save are those who the Mormon Church throws away.

Everyone Called to Repent Except Blacks

Moses 7:12; “And it came to pass that Enoch continued to call upon all the people, save it were the people of Canaan, to repent;”

Seed of Cain is Black

Moses 7:22; “And Enoch also beheld the residue of the people which were the sons of Adam; and they were a mixture of all the seed of Adam save it was the seed of Cain, for the seed of Cain were black, and had not place among them.”

If the people who were black had no place among the righteous then why was Ham who was blessed marrying into that clan?

Ham’s Wife Preserved the Curse

Abraham 1:24-27; “When this woman discovered the land it was under water, who afterward settled her sons in it; and thus, from Ham, sprang that race which preserved the curse in the land. 25 Now the first government of Egypt was established by Pharaoh, the eldest son of Egyptus, the daughter of Ham, and it was after the manner of the government of Ham, which was patriarchal. 26 Pharaoh, being a righteous man, established his kingdom and judged his people wisely and justly all his days, seeking earnestly to imitate that order established by the fathers in the first generations, in the days of the first patriarchal reign, even in the reign of Adam, and also of Noah, his father, who blessed him with the blessings of the earth, and with the blessings of wisdom, but cursed him as pertaining to the Priesthood. 27 Now, Pharaoh being of that lineage by which he could not have the right of Priesthood, notwithstanding the Pharaohs would fain claim it from Noah, through Ham, therefore my father was led away by their idolatry.”

1. Pharoah was not righteous.

2. Egyptus definition from Mormon Doctrine says there are 2 women name Egyptus. One is the descendant of Cain who was married to Ham and the other is their daughter. The Mormons believe the first Pharaoh was the grandson of the daughter Egyptus.

3. SOOO – if the mom Egyptus was already black and Ham married outside the approved “race”…

Answers to Gospel Questions 3:123; “After the people again forgot the Lord and dissensions arose, some of them took upon themselves the name Lamanites and the dark skin returned. When the Lamanites fully repent and sincerely receive the gospel, the Lord has promised to remove the dark skin.”

Indians Grateful for Mormonism

Conference Report, October 1970, p.93; “One expression of appreciation from an Indian boy included these moving words: ‘Before I took LDS seminary I didn’t have very much to live for. … I had always felt that Indians could not do things as well as white people. Now I know that I am a child of God. I know that my people are of the house of Israel.’”

Curse on Dark Skin Removed

Contributor, vol. 10 (November 1888 – October 1889): pg. 364; “The remnant of the Lamanites who are cursed below all humanity that we are acquainted with—who have been filled with the spirit of bloodshed which they have inherited from their fathers—they will embrace the Gospel in the due time of the Lord. They are of the house of Israel, and this spirit of war will be taken from them and they will become the children of God, but not until the Gentiles have entirely rejected the Gospel. Anciently it was preached to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles; in the latter times it will be first preached to the Gentiles and then to the Jews—the first shall be last and the last first.”

Deseret News

Church Condemns Racism, Reason for Ban Unclear

Deseret News, Wednesday, Feb. 29 2012; LDS Church condemns past racism ‘inside and outside the church’; ““The church’s position is clear,” LDS Church spokesman Michael Purdy said. “We believe all people are God’s children and are equal in His eyes and in the church. We do not tolerate racism in any form.”

“For a time in the church there was a restriction on the priesthood for male members of African descent,” Purdy said. “It is not known precisely why, how or when this restriction began in the church but what is clear is that it ended decades ago. Some have attempted to explain the reason for this restriction but these attempts should be viewed as speculation and opinion, not doctrine. The church is not bound by speculation or opinions given with limited understanding.”

…”BYU faculty members do not speak for the church,” Purdy said. “It is unfortunate that the church was not given a chance to respond to what others said.”

.. The story quoted Bott as saying, “What is discrimination? I think that is keeping something from somebody that would be a benefit for them, right? But what if it wouldn’t have been a benefit to them?” The story continued, “Bott says that the denial of the priesthood to blacks on Earth — although not in the afterlife — protected them from the lowest rungs of hell reserved for people who abuse their priesthood powers. ‘You couldn’t fall off the top of the ladder, because you weren’t on the top of the ladder. So, in reality the blacks not having the priesthood was the greatest blessing God could give them.’”

…”I feel sorry for him,” said Daniel C. Peterson, who is also a BYU religion professor but who says he has never met Bott. “I’m confident, though I don’t know him, that he’s a good, well-intentioned man.”

… “Our speculations as to the reason(s) (for the priesthood ban) have been essentially worthless, and sometimes harmful,” Peterson wrote. “God has not seen fit to explain why he commanded or at least permitted the denial of priesthood to blacks.

“We certainly don’t know that God withheld the priesthood from blacks in order to protect them, or because they weren’t ‘ready’ for it, or because it ‘benefited’ them to be denied access to the temple or opportunities to serve missions, and the like,” he continued. “We just don’t know. And if we ever learn the reason, that knowledge will come through the Lord’s chosen prophets and apostles, not through BYU professors like me.”

Peterson’s position is in line with statements made by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the LDS Church’s Quorum of the Twelve in a March 2006 interview with Helen Whitney of PBS. During the interview, Elder Holland referred to speculations — including those by early church leaders — about the reasons why blacks could not hold the LDS priesthood for a period of time as “folklore” that “must never be perpetuated.”” – Joseph Walker

Lamanites (Indians) Will Blossom as the Rose

Doctrine & Covenants Encyclopedia, pg. 309; “In 1976, President Spencer W. Kimball identified the Lamanites as the sixty million or more native inhabitants of the Americas and the islands of the South Pacific (CR, Oct. 1976, p. 9). According to Elder Wilford Woodruff, these people will “blossom as the rose,” and “a nation will be born in a day” as they accept the gospel (JD 15:282).A dark skin was originally placed upon the Lamanites to distinguish them from the Nephites and to keep the two people from mixing (2 Ne. 5:21; Alma 3:7-8). President Joseph Fielding Smith has written that “the dark skin was the sign of the curse. The curse,” however, “was the withdrawal of the Spirit of the Lord.” (AGQ 3:122.) Thus, when they or any other people accept the light of the gospel, “their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes” (2 Ne. 30:6).In our day, “the dark skin of those who have come into the Church is no longer considered a sign of the curse” (AGQ 3:123).” – Hoyt W. Brewster, Jr., Professor Pepperdine University and BYU

Blacks are Cursed

Evening and Morning Star, vol. 1 (June 1832-May 1822): pgs. 18-19; “And again the Lord said unto me, Look, and I looked towards the north, and I beheld the people of Canaan, which dwelt in tents. And the Lord said unto me, Prophesy, and I prophesied saying, Behold the people of Canaan, which are numerous, shall go forth in battle array against the people of Shum, and shall slay them that they shall utterly be destroyed; and the people of Canaan shall divide themselves in the land, and the land shall be barren and unfruitful, and none other people shall dwell there but the people of Canaan; for behold the Lord shall curse the land with much heat, and the barrenness thereof shall go forth forever: And there was a blackness come upon all the children of Canaan, that they were despised among all people.”

Slaves are Real Estate

“Free People of Color”, The Evening and The Morning Star, Vol. II, Independence, MO, July 1833, No. 14, pg. 109; “To prevent any misunderstanding among the churches abroad, respecting Free people of color, who may think of coming to the western boundaries of Missouri, as members of the church, we quote the following clauses from the Laws of Missouri.

“SECTION 4. Be it further enacted, That hereafter no free negro or mulatto, other than a citizen of some one of the United States, shall come into or settle in this state under any pretext whatever…

Slaves are real estate in this and other states, and wisdom would dictate great care among the branches of the church of Christ, on this subject. So long as we have no special rule in the church, as to people of color, let prudence guide; and while they, as well as we, are in the hands of a merciful God, we say: Shun every appearance of evil.”

Lamanites became White

Improvement Era, vol. 30, October 1927, No. 12; “This promise was not only held out to those living in the last days, but was partly fulfilled during the Nephite period when the persons with the dark skin repented and joined the Church. A later prophet says of those who had been faithful in the gospel: “And their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites.” 3 Nephi 2:15.”

Blacks are a blessing is foolish teaching

Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 3, No. 20, October 15, 1868, pg 157; “We will first inquire into the results of the approbation or DISPLEASURE OF GOD UPON A PEOPLE, starting with the belief that A BLACK SKIN IS A MARK OF THE CURSE OF HEAVEN PLACED UPON SOME PORTIONS OF MANKIND. Some, however, will argue that a black skin is not a curse, nor a white skin a blessing. In fact, some have been so foolish as to believe and say that a black skin is a blessing, and that the negro is the finest type of a perfect man that exists on the earth; but to us such teachings are foolishness. We understand that when God made man in his own image and pronounced him very good, that he made him white. We have no record of any of God’s favored servants being of a black race….every angel who ever brought a message of God’s mercy to man was beautiful to look upon, clad in the purest white and with a countenance BRIGHT as the noonday sun.”

Black and woolly hair, stunted intelligence

Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 3, No. 20, October 15, 1868, page 157; “Their skin is quite black, their hair woolly and black, THEIR INTELLIGENCE STUNTED, and they appear never to have arisen from the most savage state of barbarism.”

Sinners Turn Dark

Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 26, , No. 20, October 15, 1891, page 635; “From this it is very clear that the mark which was set upon the descendants of Cain was a SKIN OF BLACKNESS, and there can be no doubt that this was the mark that Cain himself received; in fact, it HAS BEEN NOTICED IN OUR DAY THAT MEN WHO HAVE LOST THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD, AND FROM WHOM HIS BLESSINGS HAVE BEEN WITHDRAWN, HAVE TURNED DARK TO SUCH AN EXTENT AS TO EXCITE THE COMMENTS OF ALL WHO HAVE KNOWN THEM.”

Blacks will receive priesthood after everyone is born

Latter-day Prophets Speak: Selections from the Sermons and Writings of Church Presidents, pg. 205; “PRIESTHOOD TO EVENTUALLY EXTEND TO ALL When all the other children of Adam have had the privilege of receiving the priesthood, and of coming into the kingdom of God, and of being redeemed from the four quarters of the earth, and have received their resurrection from the dead, then it will be time enough to remove the curse from Cain and his posterity. He deprived his brother of the privilege of pursuing his journey through life and of extending his kingdom by multiplying upon the earth and because he did this, he is the last to share the joys of the kingdom of God.-Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 2:143, December 3, 1854

Any man having one drop of the seed of Cain in him cannot receive the priesthood; but the day will come when all that race will be redeemed and possess all the blessings which we now have.-Brigham. Young, “Wilford Woodruff” by Cowley, p. 351, a. 1852

The Lamanites or Indians are just as much the children of our Father and God as we are. So also are the Africans. But we are also the children of adoption through obedience to the gospel of His son. Why are so many of the inhabitants of the earth cursed with a skin of blackness? It comes in consequence of their fathers rejecting the power of the Holy Priesthood and the law of God. They will go down to death. And when all the rest of the children have received their blessings in the Holy Priesthood, then that curse will be removed from the seed of Cain, and they will then come up and possess the priesthood and receive all the blessings which we now are entitled to.-Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 11:272, August 19, 1866”

Elijah Abel First Ordained Black

L.D.S. Biographical Encyclopedia 3:577; “Abel, Elijah, the ONLY COLORED MAN WHO IS KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN ORDAINED TO THE PRIESTHOOD, …he was ordained an ELDER March 3, 1836, and a SEVENTY April 4, 1841, AN EXCEPTION HAVING BEEN MADE IN HIS CASE WITH REGARD TO THE GENERAL RULE OF THE CHURCH IN RELATION TO COLORED PEOPLE…. In Nauvoo HE WAS INTIMATELY ACQUAINTED WITH THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH… In 1883, as a MEMBER of the Third Quorum of SEVENTY, he left Salt Lake City on a MISSION to Canada, during which he also performed missionary labors in the United States. Two weeks after his return he died, Dec. 25, 1884, of debility, consequent upon exposure while laboring in the MINISTRY in Ohio. He died in full faith of the gospel.”

Apostates Cursed with Dark Skin

Messenger and Advocate, Vol. 1, No. 6, March 1835, pg 82; “Is or is it not apparent from reason and analogy as drawn from a careful reading of the Scriptures, that God causes the saints, or people that fall away from his church to be cursed in time, with a black skin? Was or was not Cain, being marked, obliged to inherit the curse, he and his children, forever? And if so, as Ham, like other sons of God, might break the rule of God, by marrying out of the church, did or did he not, have a Canaanite wife, whereby some of the black seed was preserved through the flood, and his son, Canaan, after he laughed at his grandfather’s nakedness, heired three curses: one from Cain for killing Abel; one from Ham for marrying a black wife, and one from Noah for ridiculing what God had respect for? Are or are not the Indians a sample of marking with blackness for rebellion against God’s holy word and holy order?And can or can we not observe in the countenances of almost all nations, except the Gentile, a dark, sallow hue, which tells the sons of God, without a line of history, that they have fallen or changed from the original beauty and grace of father Adam?”

Emancipation is Wrong

Messenger and Advocate, Vol. 2, No. 1, October 1835, pgs 299-301; “Where can be the common sense of any wishing to see the slaves of the south set at liberty…Such a thing could not take place without corrupting all civil and wholesome society, of both the north and the south! Let the BLACKS of the south be free, and our community is overrun with paupers, and a reckless mass of human beings, uncultivated, untaught and unaccustomed to provide for themselves the necessaries of life— endangering the chastity of every female who might by chance be found in our streets—our prisons filled with convicts, and the HANG-MAN WEARIED with executing the functions of his office! This must unavoidably be the case, every rational man must admit, who has ever travelled in the slave states, or we must open our houses unfold our arms, and bid these DEGRADED AND DEGRADING sons of Canaan, a hear[t]y welcome and a free admittance to all we possess! A society of this nature, to us, is so intolerably DEGRADING, that the bare reflection causes our feelings to recoil, and our hearts to revolt….the project of EMANSIPATION IS DESTRUCTIVE TO OUR GOVERNMENT, and the notion of amalgamation is devilish!— And insensible to feeling must be the heart, and low indeed must be the mind, that would consent for a moment, to see his fair daughter, his sister, or perhaps, his bosom companion, in the embrace of a NEGRO!…”

Blacks cannot Scrub off the Black Mark of Cain

Millennial Star, No. 27, Vol. 14, pg 418; “For instance, the descendants of Cain cannot cast off their SKIN OF BLACKNESS, at once, and immediately, although every soul of them should repent,…Cain and his posterity must wear the mark which God put upon them; and his white friends may WASH THE RACE OF CAIN WITH FULLER’S SOAP EVERY DAY, THEY CANNOT WASH AWAY GOD’S MARK;…” – Saturday, August 28, 1852

Why Blacks were accepted into Church

Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 353; “Under these conditions President Spencer W. Kimball began an exhaustive personal study of the scriptures as well as statements of Church leaders since Joseph Smith, and asked other General Authorities to share their personal feelings relative to the longstanding Church policy. Then he began to inquire of the Lord if the time was not right to extend the priesthood blessings to this restricted people. Recalling this period, President Kimball stated, “Day after day, and especially on Saturdays and Sundays when there were no organizations in the temple, I went there when I could be alone.” The result was a revelation on 1 June 1978.”

Truth: the Mormon Church was being pressured by many to change their racist ways. One example was the NCAA who was threatening to boycott the BYU football team.

Descendants of Ham have Black Hearts

Times and Seasons, vol. 6 (January 15, 1845 – February: pg. 857; “History and common observation show that these predictions have been fulfilled to the letter. The descendants of Ham, besides a black skin which has ever been a curse that has followed an apostate of the holy priesthood, as well as a black heart, have been servants to both Shem and Japheth, and the abolitionists are trying to make void the curse of God, but it will require more power than man possesses to counteract the decrees of eternal wisdom.”

Genesis 9:24-27; “And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. 25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 26 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. 27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.”

I thought it was the descendants of Cain that had the curse? If anyone has a black heart it has to be those who teach these things.

A letter that George Romney received in 1964 (when Romney was governor of Michigan) from a Mormon apostle named Delbert L. Stapley. The letter encouraged Romney to reconsider his pro-civil rights position. In the months after receiving this letter, George Romney stepped up his support for civil rights.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Council of The Twelve

It was a real pleasure to greet and have a moment to visit with you and Lenore here this past week. It is wonderful to see how enthusiastically you are received by the good people of Utah.

After listening to your talk on Civil Rights, I am very much concerned. Several others have expressed the same concern to me. It does not altogether harmonize with my own understandings regarding this subject; therefore, I thought to drop you a note not in my official Church position, but as a personal friend. Only President McKay can speak for the Church.

I felt, George, your views were most liberal on this vital problem in the light of the revelations, but nevertheless, I cannot deny you the right of your position if it represents your true belief and feelings,

I would like to suggest you read two items on this subject, both by the Prophet Joseph Smith, Turn to page 269 of Teachings Of The Prophet Joseph Smith by Joseph Fielding Smith, and read beginning the middle of the page under the caption, “The Status of the Negro,” giving particular attention to the closing sentence on page 270. Also, read from History of the Church, Period 1, Volume 2, beginning on page 436, under the heading, “The Prophet’s Views on Abolition,” which article continues to the bottom of page 440. After reading this last-mentioned statement by the Prophet, then come back to the last paragraph on page 438, and give it some real thought.

When I reflect upon the Prophet’s statements and remember what happened to three of our nation’s presidents who were very active in the Negro cause, I am sobered by their demise. They went contrary to the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith- unwittingly, no doubt, but nevertheless, the prophecy of Joseph Smith, “…those who are determined to pursue a course, which shows an opposition, and a feverish restlessness against the

Governor George W. Romney Page 2, January 23, 1964

decrees of the Lord, will learn, when perhaps it is too late for their own good, that God can do His own work, without the aid of those who are not dictated by His counsel, “has and will continue to be fulfilled”.

In this respect, let me give you a personal experience. A friend of mine in Arizona, not a Church member, a great champion of the colored race came to me after my call into the Twelve, and acknowledged President McKay to be a Prophet of God. He wanted me to ask President McKay to inquire of the Lord to see if the Lord would not lift the curse from the colored race and give them the privileges of the Priesthood. I explained to him that the Lord had placed the curse upon the Negro, which denied him the Priesthood; therefore, it was the Lord’s responsibility –

not man’s to change His decision. This friend of mine met a very tragic end by drowning. He was a most enthusiastic advocate of the colored cause and went about promoting for them all the privileges, social opportunities, and participation enjoyed by the Whites.

I am sure you know that the Prophet Joseph Smith, in connection with the Negro problem of this country, proposed to Congress that they sell public lands and buy up the Negro slaves and transport them back to Africa from whence they came. I am sure the Prophet, with his vision and understanding, foresaw the problems we are faced with today with this race, which caused him to promote this program.

The statements of the Prophet Joseph Smith have been a helpful influence on me because they accord with my own understandings regarding the Negro. I cannot, in my own feelings, accept the idea of public accommodations; the taking from the whites their wishes to satisfy the Negros. I do not have any objection to recognizing the Negro in his place and giving him every opportunity for education, for employment, for whatever contribution he can make to the society of men and the protection and blessings of Government. Yet, all these things, in my judgment, should accord with the expressions of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

It is not right to force any class or race of people upon those of a different social order or race classification. People are happier when placed in the environment and association of like interests, racial instincts, habits, and natural groupings.

Governor George W. Romney Page 3, January 23, 1964

I am enclosing a little booklet entitled Mormonism and the Negro, which you may already have. If not, it is an enlightening exposition and quite well reflects the Church position in regard to these people,

I am not against a Civil Rights Bill if it conforms to the views of the Prophet Joseph Smith according to the references above given. I fully agree the Negro is entitled to considerations

also stated above, but not full social benefits nor inter-marriage privileges with the Whites, nor should the Whites be forced to accept them into restricted White areas. In my judgment, the

present proposed Bill of Rights is vicious legislation. There needs to be some modification. The position of the Church cannot change until the Lord changes it Himself. Certainly I am not for

exploiting racial or religious prejudices, but it is the present play-up to the Negro voters which is unnecessarily creating problems that by a more firm, sensible approach can be avoided.

There will be a few die-hard leaders, but then that has always been true with any debatable issue. Principle, religious or otherwise, cannot be abrogated for political expediency.

Now, don’t think I am against the Negro people, because I have several in my employ. We must understand and recognize their status and then, accordingly, provide for them. I just don’t think we can get around the Lord’s position in relation to the Negro without punishment for our acts; going contrary to that which He has revealed. The Lord will not permit His purposes to be frustrated by man.

Please understand I have a great respect and admiration for you, but because of my feelings I thought I should express myself as I have so you will know my personal position.

This letter is for your personal use only (also Lenore) , and is not to be used in any other way. It does not require an answer .

4 Responses

Referring to how members view the mark and curse of Cain. The way I look at it, they are two different things. The mark of Cain, interpreted as dark skin, IS passed down generation to generation. The curse is NOT passed down, it was and is only for Cain who committed murder.

you are only taking bits and pieces of what was really trying to be said during those talks and putting them a bad way! Did you know currently today there are almost as many non-white members as there are white members? those talks were from long ago and there were reasons for them, the mormons were already being persecuted as is and if they would have allowed blacks in at the time it would have caused more issues. But later on once they established themselves and knew that descriminating a certain people was wrong they did let other races join the church, and to this day people of any race can withhold the priesthood making your a total liar and basing all your facts on illegitament fragments that you chose to point out…

It doesn’t matter how many blacks or Hispanics are in the Church. What matters is that these men who said they speak for God told people they were less than human because of their skin color and it doesn’t matter that they said it 100 years ago, 200 years ago or yesterday. Their words are unbiblical.
Where did I lie?
You yourself said they knew they were wrong. They prophesied as prophets that being a certain color means you can NEVER hold the priesthood until AFTER ALL of Adam’s descendants were born. Each person that is born every single day proves those in the Church are the liars, not me.
We’re praying for you.
Michelle Grim

“The day the negro is allowed to hold the priesthood, the church would be destroyed”

Plus, you have your history way off… The LDS church in no way discriminated against the blacks so they could get better established and then later on accept them once they became established…

The LDS church, from the get-go, denied the blacks participation…

“The Negroes are not equal with other races where the receipt of certain spiritual blessings are concerned, …but this inequality is not of man’s origin. It is the Lord’s doing, is based on his eternal laws of justice, and grows out of the lack of spiritual valiance of those concerned in their first estate. (Mormon Doctrine, Bruce R. McConkie – Pages 527- 528).

Greg – It is only through a real relationship with Jesus the Christ that will open your eyes to the un-Biblical teachings of the Mormon church.

I ask if you are Hispanic as your last name implies that you are? We used to call the Mexican’s “Lamenites” because you hadn’t turned white and fair skinned… My whole Mormon family (and even I) used to call the Hispanics more derogatory names than that… Ones that I am sure you have heard…

Thanks be to our Lord and Savior Jesus for removing that poison of racism from my heart…

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